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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22750672">Forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Calacious'>Calacious</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Key &amp; Peele (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canonical Character Death, Care Bears - Freeform, Crack Treated Seriously, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, Friendship, Funshine Bear - Freeform, Ghosts, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not a Crossover, Pre-Slash, Share Bear - Freeform, YouTube, eternal love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:22:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,172</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22750672</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Calacious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When they were little kids, Twigs and Carvell promised to be friends forever, but Twigs died, and Carvell is all alone. Or is he?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Twigs/Carvell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Week 2: Coming Clean</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a response for the prompt: Coming Clean and is based on the Key and Peele sketch, which I saw on YouTube, entitled: "Trying Not to Laugh While Your Friend is Crying". Carvell's childhood memories would not leave my imagination alone, and this is what happened as a result of that. </p>
<p>Thank you for supporting me as I wrote this, csi_sanders1129. :-)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjFUJEoq8k0">
    <span>Trying Not to Laugh When Your Friend is Crying, Key and Peele</span>
  </a>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Funshine Bear!" Twigs' shout was accompanied by a high pitched giggle, and Share Bear dancing through the air as the little boy manipulated the stuffed toy. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Share Bear!" Carvell shouted just as enthusiastically. He made the stuffed bear he was holding fly through the air and tackle his best friend, and Share Bear, in a hug that sent all four of them sprawling to the floor in a pile of limbs and laughter. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>When the laughter died down, they untangled themselves and sat down side by side, bears held in their laps, smiles on their faces. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"I love you," Twigs said, hugging Carvell, the bears squished between them. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"I love you, too," Carvell said, hugging his friend back. "Let's be best friends forever."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Best friends forever," Twigs agreed, holding out Share Bear's paw for Funshine Bear to shake.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Except, Twigs had lied. He’d broken their childhood promise the moment he’d died, leaving Carvell all alone, grieving for the only person he’d ever loved. Carvell brushed aside his tears, said a prayer for the soul of his friend. He hugged Funshine Bear close to his heart, and wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have buried Share Bear with Twigs after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss you, Twigs,” Carvell said, wiping away a tear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snuggled Funshine Bear and burrowed further into the covers, but sleep would not come. The drug deal had gone well (after he’d killed the fool who’d laughed while he’d shared his memories of Twigs with the crew, Twigs had been laid to rest, and he’d gotten back into the game); that wasn’t what was keeping him awake. No, what was robbing him of sleep was the fact that his best friend, the only person he’d loved in all of this world, was dead, and he’d never been able to tell him how he’d really felt about him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I miss you, too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carvell screamed (a manly scream), and clutched Funshine Bear even tighter as he pulled the covers over his head. That had been Twigs’ voice, which was impossible. Twigs was dead. He’d tossed dirt on the man’s grave earlier that week, and had laid a dozen roses on the man’s grave just that morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not real,” Carvell whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promised that we’d be best friends forever,” Twigs’ voice said. “That’s a promise I plan to keep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But, you’re dead,” Carvell said, covers still firmly over his head, and Funshine Bear crushed to his chest. “This isn’t happening. I should never have gone into that crack house.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not high,” Twigs’ voice said. “I’m not a figment of your imagination. This is real.</span>
  <em>
    <span> I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am real.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” Carvell’s voice was little more than a whisper, though it was filled with hope that terrified him, because how could this be real? How could Twigs be there, in his room, when he was six feet under?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, man,” Twigs’ voice said, and Carvell felt the bed dip under a familiar weight. “I just know that, one minute I was walking toward this light, and the next, I was watching you blubber about our childhood to our crew, then I was watching you toss dirt on my casket, putting flowers on my grave -- thanks for that, they’re real pretty -- and now, here I am. Not in the flesh, just...here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though he was afraid (he’d never admit that to anyone), Carvell forced himself to move out from underneath the covers, and gasped when he saw that Twigs, or rather the ghost of Twigs, was indeed sitting on his bed. There was a smile on the ghost’s face, and he was holding Share Bear. Both Twigs and the teddy bear were translucent, and had a slight glowing aura surrounding them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Twigs gave him a shy smile, and waved Share Bear’s paw in the air. Feeling more confident, though he was still convinced that he might need to have his head checked, Carvell sat up against the headboard, and had Funshine Bear wave back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry that I died,” Twigs said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carvell shrugged, and looked down at Funshine Bear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t trying to break our promise,” he said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Carvell said. He did. Really. Except there was a part of him that didn’t know that. A tiny, unhappy part of him that thought that maybe Twigs had known how he really felt about him, and had decided to cut ties with him in the only way he could after the promise that they’d made - by dying. It was ridiculous, but he couldn’t stop that tiny part of himself from feeling that way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you don’t,” Twigs said in a voice that was far more gentle than it had ever been before. “But, even if it takes an eternity, I’ll show you just how much our promise all those years ago meant to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carvell looked up, eyes glistening with tears that he tried to blink away. “Are you sure you want to stick around with me for eternity?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Best friends forever,” Twigs said, reminding both of them of their promise. “I meant it then, and I mean it now. I love you, man. That kind of love doesn’t end when one person dies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Love?” Carvell asked, heart pounding in his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, man, I love you,” Twigs said. “Or did you forget that part of our promise?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Carvell shook his head. “No, I didn’t forget. I just...I thought...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here, maybe this will help you understand.” Twigs placed Share Bear on the bed and leaned closer to Carvell. They looked into each other’s eyes and Twigs placed his cool, ethereal lips on Carvell’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A thrill of electricity threatened to stop Carvell’s heart, even as it short-circuited his brain. Though it was impossible, he felt Twigs’ lips on his, soft, barely there, but there nonetheless. It was everything he’d ever dreamed this moment would be like when he’d dared to entertain fantasies about kissing his best friend once puberty had hit, and nothing like what he’d dreamed it would be like. It was so much better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve wanted to do that forever,” Twigs admitted shyly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me, too,” Carvell breathed the words out, blushing when he realized he’d said. “I just never thought you felt the same way I did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were both fools,” Twigs said, lying down beside Carvell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should have told you I was in love with you a long time ago,” Carvell said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Back in middle school, I used to have wet dreams about you,” Twigs said, shocking a giggle from Carvell who settled in beside the ghost of his best friend, surprised by how real the ghost felt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember when we used to pretend that the floor was lava?” Carvell asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Twigs laughed, and he rested his head on Carvell’s chest. “Let’s pretend that the floor is lava for the next few days.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can ghosts... you know?” Carvell asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s find out,” Twigs said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Funshine and Share Bear found themselves on the end of the bed, arm in arm. </span>
</p>
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